INTRODUCTION
Background: By terms of the 1960 Treaty of Establishment that created the independent Republic of Cyprus, the UK retained full sovereignty and jurisdiction over two areas of almost 254 square kilometers - Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The southernmost and smallest of these is the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area, which is also referred to as the Western Sovereign Base Area.
GEOGRAPHY
Location: peninsula on the southwest coast of Cyprus
Geographic coordinates: 34 37 N, 32 58 E
Map references: Middle East
Area: total: 123 sq km
note: includes a salt lake and wetlands
Area - comparative: about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: total: 47.4 km
border countries: Cyprus 47.4 km
Coastline: 56.3 km
Climate: temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters
Environment - current issues: shooting around the salt lake; note - breeding place for loggerhead and green turtles; only remaining colony of griffon vultures is on the base
Geography - note: British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus
PEOPLE
Population: approximately 15,700 live on the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia including 7,700 Cypriots, 3,600 Service and UK-based contract personnel, and 4,400 dependents
Languages: English, Greek
GOVERNMENT
Country name: conventional long form: Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area
conventional short form: Akrotiri
Dependency status: overseas territory of UK; administered by an administrator who is also the Commander, British Forces Cyprus
Capital: name: Episkopi Cantonment; also serves as capital of Dhekelia
geographic coordinates: 34 40 N, 32 51 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Constitution: Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960, effective 16 August 1960
Legal system: the Sovereign Base Area Administration has its own court system to deal with civil and criminal matters; laws applicable to the Cypriot population are, as far as possible, the same as the laws of the Republic of Cyprus
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Administrator Air Vice-Marshal Richard LACEY (since 26 April 2006); note - reports to the British Ministry of Defense elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the administrator is appointed by the monarch
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation from the US: none (overseas territory of the UK)
Flag description: the flag of the UK is used
ECONOMY
Economy - overview: Economic activity is limited to providing services to the military and their families located in Akrotiri. All food and manufactured goods must be imported.
Currency (code): Cypriot pound (CYP)
Exchange rates: Cypriot pounds per US dollar - 0.46019 (2006), 0.4641 (2005), 0.4686 (2004), 0.5174 (2003), 0.6107 (2002)
COMMUNICATIONS
Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM 1, shortwave NA (British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides Radio 1 and Radio 2 service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia) (2006)
Television broadcast stations: 0 (British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia) (2006)
MILITARTY
Military - note: Akrotiri has a full RAF base, Headquarters for British Forces on Cyprus, and Episkopi Support Unit
This page was last updated on 1 May, 2008